Growth Mindset

By Lana

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It is easy to define your self-worth through academic validation. With good grades, you feel as if you are worthy of what you contribute to your surroundings. While chasing for academic validation develops qualities such as determination and pride, it can also cause anxiety and make you feel drained. With this combination, it is difficult to get out of a rut when you are in a new learning environment. Thus, developing a growth mindset can help tackle these issues.

A growth mindset is a mindset that focuses on practicing and refining what you have learned. It requires patience as your past experiences and failures will let you reflect on what you need to work on in the future in order to succeed. Developing a growth mindset may be incredibly difficult if someone, such as myself, is a perfectionist that is sensitive to failure. Yet, it also makes you realize that the idea of “intelligence” can grow with time and practice. Here are some examples of having a growth mindset:

• Reassessing your weaknesses, and developing skills to overcome it 
• Building off of criticism 
• Not undermining your efforts and skills when you fail 
• Understanding that it takes time for your desires and expectations to come true 

I believe that my one weakness in school was not having a growth mindset. Ever since I was a young student, I believed that my life was going well as long as I was successful. While this led me to want academic validation, it also caused me to antagonize school because I felt as if I was under pressure to have good grades regardless of my mental wellbeing. This was a toxic cycle, and it did not prepare me to learn that failure is a natural part of the process. I recently took a “weed-out” course, which is meant to fail students that are considered not as qualified in the subject. 

The course completely debunked my hopes of academic validation. My study habits did not benefit my scores, and I failed most of my exams due to intense anxiety. While I did not get the grade that I wanted, my experience in the class allowed me to develop a growth mindset. 

I reflected upon my experience by thinking about what I did wrong, what were my strengths in the class, and how I could refine my study skills in order to boost my performance. While I am more optimistic in my skills and what I have learned, I wanted to collect my thoughts on how you can have a growth mindset.

1. Firstly, it is important to understand that academics is a journey that is unique to each person. It is good to be truthful to yourself and know what are your strengths and weaknesses. You can list it out on a piece of paper and possibly think about which courses require certain skills. This may help you plan out your schedule and what you need to study. For instance, I am not a math person, so I require more time everyday working on mathematical practice problems.
   
   
2. Don’t be completely discouraged if you do not get a score that you wanted on a test. I know that saying “I’ll try better next time” may not always work, but it is important to see what went wrong. Did you get anxiety, which impacted your studying? Did you not study enough? Brainstorming different tactics to use for your next studying session may help you see what you could apply in the future.
   
   
3. Make sure to treat yourself to occasional fun and spontaneous activities! When you are in a learning rut, you feel incredibly drained. It is good to break out of that cycle and understand that your life beyond school is valued. Get that drink that you have been craving or take a day off of studying to hang out with friends! Make yourself believe that you deserve it for your hard work. Once you are in a good headspace, you will feel more optimistic and determined.
   
   
4. Make use of the resources that work for you. For instance, I like to stay organized with a physical planner to note what needs to be done each day. For topics to learn and study, I like to make flashcard sets on Quizlet because I am a visual and auditory learner. Finding what is right for you is good when developing a growth mindset, because you are discovering the skills that are being applied to your success.
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5. Lastly, it’s okay if you feel drained and overworked. There is no such thing as everyday being a good day. Don’t feel pressured to be completely fixated on the idea of a “growth mindset,” rather than a mindset that fits with your preferences. Remember that working on changing your perspective is a great accomplishment itself! I’m sure that you will encounter progress with your efforts, and that is valued.

I hope that these tips help you! It definitely takes time to develop a growth mindset, as I am also working on it myself. However, I’m sure that everything will work out in the end with dedication and perseverance!